Top Al Qaeda figure reportedly arrested

UNITED STATES

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Pakistani officials have arrested a top Al Qaeda commander who could provide clues on the location of Osama bin Laden and of Islamic militant cells worldwide, ABC News reported yesterday. The network said Pakistani police arrested Matiur Rehman based on leads in the investigation of an alleged plot to bomb US-bound airplanes from London. US law enforcement officials have been notified of the arrest, but no independent confirmation was available. (Reuters)

Chile

SANTIAGO -- Chile's Supreme Court stripped former dictator Augusto Pinochet of immunity from prosecution yesterday to face charges in a $27 million tax fraud case, court sources said. The ruling opens Pinochet to investigation and prosecution for embezzling public funds allegedly deposited in secret foreign bank accounts. In October, he was stripped of immunity to face other charges in the case. (Reuters)

Pakistan

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistani authorities arrested six militants behind a suicide car-bomb attack outside a US consulate that killed four people, including a US diplomat, an official said yesterday. The official did not identify the six with links to Al Qaeda but said they were arrested in Sindh and Punjab provinces. The March 2 blast killed David Foy, the bomber and three other people on the eve of President Bush's visit. (Reuters)

Italy

ROME -- A British passenger plane to Egypt diverted to a southern Italian airport yesterday after the pilot reported that a bomb was suspected to be on board, Italian aviation officials said. Authorities searching the plane found a handwritten note in English that said there was a bomb on the plane, a spokesman for border police said. All 280 passengers exited the plane safely. Italian police searched and questioned passengers. No explosives were found, and no arrests were made . (AP)

Rwanda

KIGALI -- Rwanda's government has proposed eliminating the death penalty for genocide to encourage European countries and Canada to extradite suspected masterminds of the nation's 1994 mass killings, the attorney general said yesterday. Rwanda has repeatedly demanded the extradition of any genocide suspects, but some nations expressed reservations because of the death penalty. Genocide survivors' organizations denounce the possibility of removing capital punishment for genocide. (AP)

Ecuador

BAÑOS -- Rescuers searched yesterday for 30 people missing after a volcanic explosion that killed at least one person and appeared poised for a new eruption. At least a dozen villages on the volcano's western slopes were seriously damaged or destroyed, although most people managed to escape before the eruption. Officials urged people to stay away from the volcano, which rumbled to life in 1999 after 80 years of dormancy. (AP)

Nigeria

PORT HARCOURT -- Nigerian troops stormed a slum yesterday, moving from house to house, forcing residents to flee, local radio reported. The raid follows a government order for troops to use force against militants who kidnapped more than twelve foreign oil workers this month. A military spokesman confirmed an operation was underway. (Reuters)